Jack Sullivan: Artist y Dociau | Jack Sullivan: A Docklands Artist

Event Info

An exhibition by Tiger Bay and the World

Policeman, serviceman, Cardiffian; artist Jack Sullivan’s greatest achievement was connecting the people of Cardiff to their past.

Jack Sullivan was a police officer at Cardiff Docks in the 1940s and 50s. As he patrolled the docks, he sketched the daily scenes of work and community. Decades later, in the 1980s, he transformed those sketches into paintings.

See the paintings of Dockland life and discover the people and places as seen through the eyes of a Docklands artist.

“I think my paintings are a form of remembrance. I get the greatest pleasure when someone says of the painting, ‘That’s how it was.’” – Jack Sullivan

This exhibition was first displayed at Museum of Cardiff. The exhibition was originally made possible thanks to National Lottery Players and a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

During summer 2026, the Senedd is pleased to host the exhibition at the Pierhead—a building that has long stood as an iconic landmark of Cardiff Docks.

Image: Cartref Tiger Bay / Home to Tiger Bay, 1988. Image courtesy of Museum of Cardiff ©the artist’s estate